Technical Development Specialist - UK & Ireland (Ref: PK8921)

NEW VACANCY! (PK8921)

TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST - UK & IRELAND

HOMEBASED - The role is customer-facing and involves regular site and head office visits with approximately two days per week working from home.

SALARY £60-65K (Depending on Experience) + Company Car

Our client is one of the UK's largest independent corrugated packaging manufacturers. Their converting services range from high volume transit cases to retail ready packaging, and they offer a full service in all customer box design requirements to clients in FMCG and Food markets.

They are currently looking for a Technical Development Specialist to join their Design Innovation and Technical Department. You will be responsible for supporting the external sales team in delivering profitable sales growth, collaborating with other functions within the business to support internal margin improvement initiatives.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage and prioritise activity to maximise value creation, business retention and profitable growth
• Conduct supply chain audits and packing line audits for our customers and prospects
• Continually drive and develop the product and service offer to create value and deliver lowest TCO in the supply chain
• Identify and leverage Value Creation, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Value Selling principals
• Build strategic working relationships with targeted customers
• Delivery of value engineering targets and commitments
• Support development and delivery of an effective value creation and margin improvement project WoW to assist the function to become more efficient and effective going forward
• Actively collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive Right 1st Time Principles, supporting the development and optimisation of tools, systems & WoW
• Plan, manage and prioritise your time in order to create value from value creation projects, supply chain audits, line speed audits, performance packaging and improvement projects
• Through a stage-gate process actively lead and support the co-ordination, tracking and recording of projects though the trial and on-boarding process
• Support the sales team on tender preparation, identifying value that can be used in negotiations

Requirements:

• Experience in the packaging industry, ideally within sales, technical, or design functions
• Strong technical knowledge of packaging materials and box performance characteristics
• Understanding of packaging machinery and customer packaging line operations
• Insight into supply chain dynamics and their impact on packaging requirements
• Ability to apply value creation principles and conduct supply chain analysis
• Knowledge of core markets, trends, and key drivers within the packaging sector
• Excellent project and time management capabilities
• Experience leading continuous improvement initiatives and delivering added value
• Skilled at prioritising and delivering tasks within tight deadlines
• Exceptional communication, presentation, and organisational abilities
• Energetic, influential, and committed to high performance and excellence
• Creative problem-solver with the ability to develop and implement alternative solutions
• Strong analytical thinking and decision-making skills
• Self-starter with a proactive mindset and a drive to take on new challenges
• Collaborative team player with strong interpersonal skills
• Ability to work effectively with internal and external stakeholders
• Solid commercial acumen with strong negotiation and influencing capabilities
• Understanding of go-to-market channels, including retail and eCommerce
• Awareness of sustainability principles and relevant legislation (e.g., plastic replacement, CO2 reduction)